Decision: South Tampa or the Northern Burbs???

[jdvalle]

Originally Posted by TampaKaren

A 3 bedroom rental in SoTa between $1200 and $1400 will look like the tiny piece of poop you've already seen in the $350K sales price range. If you want to lease a nice three bedroom, you can expect to pay between $1800 and $2500+ and those that are well-maintained with decent square footage go quick. Understand that many of the properties sold in this area during the boom went between $400K and $600K+, so payments are high and the rents have followed.

When leasing anywhere, be cautious. Look up ownership and mortgage information on public records and try to learn as much about the landlord as possible. A lease will survive a sale, but not a foreclosure. Sorry, if this is too harsh, I'm just being truthful.

So you're agreeing with me?.... the person here who said that I can find a "GREAT" So. Tampa home in Palma Ceia, Virginia Park, etc. for 300-375K (given the right realtor) was crazy?

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by jdvalle

So you're agreeing with me?.... the person here who said that I can find a "GREAT" So. Tampa home in Palma Ceia, Virginia Park, etc. for 300-375K (given the right realtor) was crazy?

Need to know what one considers "GREAT"...I do see homes less than 300k in South Tampa neighborhoods, like Bayside West(Mine), Bel Mar Estates, Manhatten Manor/Fair Oaks, Palma Ceia, Virginia Park(zips 33611, 33629 - most built in the 40's, with upgrades), and brand new construction homes under 350k in Port Tampa City(zip 33616).

Now if you are looking for all brand new construction, garages, pools, fenced quarter acre lots in gated communities for less then 375k in South Tampa, it will be very, very, very slim pickings.

I will send a DM to you with a Realtor that specializes in South Tampa, and has a website with homes specifically in the area, and also lives in South Tampa.

[jdvalle]

Originally Posted by tampaguy03

Need to know what one considers "GREAT"...I do see homes less than 300k in South Tampa neighborhoods, like Bayside West(Mine), Bel Mar Estates, Manhatten Manor/Fair Oaks, Palma Ceia, Virginia Park(zips 33611, 33629 - most built in the 40's, with upgrades), and brand new construction homes under 350k in Port Tampa City(zip 33616).

Now if you are looking for all brand new construction, garages, pools, fenced quarter acre lots in gated communities for less then 375k in South Tampa, it will be very, very, very slim pickings.

I will send a DM to you with a Realtor that specializes in South Tampa, and has a website with homes specifically in the area, and also lives in South Tampa.

great. thanks!

To clarify, I don't need a new constrcution home. I just don't want it to be run down and in a spotty area. Some of those MLS pictures look pretty crappy. I mean, 1200 sq. ft. bungalows have character and all... but some of the lower prices ones in So. Tampa remind me more of North Cleveland.

[TampaKaren]

Originally Posted by jdvalle

So you're agreeing with me?.... the person here who said that I can find a "GREAT" So. Tampa home in Palma Ceia, Virginia Park, etc. for 300-375K (given the right realtor) was crazy?

No, I did not say that. I do agree with you that South Tampa is expensive comparatively speaking.

I've been pounding the streets of SoTa for the past several weeks and I, too, have seen properties where I would not lay my head down at night. Maybe I'm cheap, but over $200 per square foot is too steep for my wallet. Not to mislead anyone who may read this later on, the area I'm talking about is North of Euclid, East of Dale Mabry, and South of Azeele.

I acknowledge that much of the cost of the real estate in South Tampa is in the land and those located on the water. There are properties for sale at less than $200 per square foot, but they're mostly distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales). In September 08, the average sales price for the 83 solds in South Tampa was $424K. You can verify it here, it's public record ---> GTAR



Just my USD $.02

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by jdvalle

How hard would it be to rent a nice 3 bedroom condo/townhouse in that area for around $1200-$1400? IF we could do that it seems like my family could get a better feel for the area and the housing prospects. Then maybe we could buy after prices drop even more.... say in summer 2009.

Hard. I paid $1400/mo in Carrollwood, I'm paying a few hundo more a month here in South Tampa. The lesser expensive 3+ bedroom townhomes via private Landlords that I looked in April at before I decided on the one I'm living in now were in the $1800-1900 range.